ERA24FA301

Factual narrative

On July 11, 2024, about 0923 Atlantic standard time, a Cessna 402B airplane, N4167G, was destroyed when was involved in an accident near the Rafael Hernandez Airport (BQN), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The private pilot was fatally injured, and a person on the ground sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a personal flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a mechanic who assisted the pilot with his preflight inspection, the pilot planned to complete a flight from his home airport BQN to San Juan Airport (SJU), Puerto Rico, to address several maintenance discrepancies with his airplane. The mechanic reported that the four fuel tanks were found near empty or about one-third full during the preflight inspection. A fuel receipt obtained from the airport found that the pilot obtained 13 gallons of 100-low lead fuel from the fixed-base-operator. The mechanic reported that following the fuel addition he estimated the left main fuel tank contained about 15 gallons and the right main fuel tank contained about 6-8 gallons but was “super low” in his visual estimation. The left auxiliary tank contained about 20 gallons, and the right auxiliary tank contained about 15 gallons. He reported that he did not observe the pilot sump the fuel tanks during the preflight inspection and the correct fuel measuring dip stick was not present with the airplane. He added that the pilot stated to him, he planned to use the main tanks for the takeoff, and then would use the auxiliary tanks while enroute to San Juan. The mechanic observed the pilot start the engines and complete a run-up, which he described as normal. He did not witness the airplane takeoff. According to preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) automatic dependent surveillance- broadcast (ADS-B) data, the airplane departed runway 8 and climbed to about 1,500 ft mean sea level (msl) about 2 miles east of the end of runway 8. The airplane then circled to the left and began a descent in a left downwind. When the airplane reached about 1 mile northeast of the airport, the track turned directly towards the approach end of runway 26. In the final 30 seconds of track data, the altitude and groundspeed continued to decrease rapidly. The final recorded position showed the airplane about .3 miles northeast of the runway 26 threshold at 200 ft msl, and 73 knots groundspeed. Review of preliminary FAA air traffic control ground and tower communications found that about 0914 the pilot requested a visual flight rules (VFR) departure to the east and about 3 minutes later was cleared for takeoff from runway 8. At 0921:31, the pilot called the tower and stated, “yeah going back to runway 8 i just wanna check the uh vibration on the right engine uh uh no emergency for right now for 1 6 7 gulf.” The controller immediately cleared the pilot to enter the left downwind for runway 8 and provided him the current weather and airport information. At 0922:25, the pilot stated “aguadilla ground mayday mayday i i engine failure I will use the other side of the runway for 1 6 7 gulf.” The controller immediately cleared the pilot to land on runway 26 and provided him the current wind information of 090° at 10 knots, gusting to 14 knots. The pilot readback cleared to land and there were no further communications. Figure 1 shows the ADS-B flight track, the airport environment, select pilot transmissions made over the tower frequency, and the accident site. Figure 1: Overview of the airplane’s flight path and excerpts of the pilot’s communication with the tower. Two air traffic controllers observed the airplane’s flight path as it was flying directly toward the runway 26 threshold. They observed the airplane in its final few seconds of flight abruptly roll to the right and descend vertically into terrain. Prior to the descent, one controller reported that he did not visually observe anything abnormal about the airplane. Surveillance videos captured the final few seconds of flight, which showed the airplane in a steep vertical descent and right roll. Upon impact an explosion and post-crash fire was observed. The landing gear was observed retracted. The airplane impacted a residential area front yard into trees, powerlines, and propane gas tanks. One person on the ground, who was riding his bicycle near the road the airplane impacted sustained minor injuries when he was struck with small debris and fell off his bicycle. The wreckage remained in a compact area and was oriented on a heading of 330°. A post-crash fire consumed a majority of the cockpit, fuselage, and portions of both wings. Flight control cable continuity was established from the elevator, rudder, and elevator and rudder trim tabs to the fire damaged cockpit. The elevator trim was found about 1.5°- 2.5° down. The landing gear were found retracted. The flap actuator was measured and corresponded to approximately a 10° position. The majority of the fuel tanks were thermally damaged. The fuel selector panel was thermally destroyed, and its valves did not correspond to reliable indications. The cockpit, switches, levers, and flight instruments were all severely damaged by fire. Both engines had separated from the airframe and were found a few feet forward of the wings. The engines exhibited impact damage and post-impact fire damage. The engine casings were free of large cracks and holes. The spark plugs with each engine remained securely installed, in addition to the magnetos. Both propellers were equipped with a three-blade propeller configuration. The left engine propeller blades displayed varying impact related signatures. Two blades exhibited little to no torsional twisting or bending. One blade exhibited aft bending near its tip, and also had chordwise scratches near the blade root. The right engine propeller blades exhibited varying degrees of chordwise scratching and blade polishing. One blade displayed aft bending, and one blade exhibited forward bending near its tip. The remaining blade exhibited little forward or aft bending. The airplane’s maintenance records revealed the airplane had not been signed off for a recent annual or 100-hr inspection. An annual inspection maintenance endorsement dated, April 24, 2024, denoted that the airplane was “UNAIRWORTHY.” Attached to the endorsement was a “Squawk List” discrepancy sheet that had 3 pages of items to be corrected, which noted discrepancies with both engines and the airframe. According to the mechanic that wrote the list, the majority of the items had not been corrected. This mechanic advised the pilot that he needed to apply for a ferry permit from the FAA in order to complete the flight to SJU, which was not accomplished prior to the accident flight. From November 2020 to April 2024 the maintenance records showed that the airplane had flown 1.4 hours. The most recent annual/ 100-hr inspection endorsement that found the airplane in an airworthy condition was dated June 6, 2019. The airplane was retained for further examination. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

• — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained
• — Aircraft-Aircraft handling/service-Maintenance/inspections-Return to service-Not serviced/maintained